


Dinner with the Gallaghers

by fearlessmick



Category: Shameless (US)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-06-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:36:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24600133
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fearlessmick/pseuds/fearlessmick
Summary: Mickey and Ian go to the Gallagher house for dinner and a touchy topic is brought up when they get home.
Relationships: Ian Gallagher/Mickey Milkovich, Lip Gallagher/Tami Tamietti
Comments: 10
Kudos: 179





	Dinner with the Gallaghers

“Mick, where are my shoes?” Ian called as he rifled through the closet trying to find his boots. 

“Check under the couch!” Mickey yelled from the bathroom. Ian let out a laugh at this response, and walked into the living room to look for his shoes. That was where Mickey had kicked Ian’s brown work boots last night when their cuddling on the couch had turned up a notch. Mickey, who was only wearing a pair of pants, chuckled as Ian returned with his boots in hand. 

“Told ya.” Mickey said, smirking as he sat down on the corner of the queen sized bed.

“Hurry your slow ass up.” Ian told Mickey as he laced his boots up. He knew Mickey was purposely taking forever to get ready because being late drove Ian up the wall. 

After the twenty minutes it took Mickey to pick out a shirt to wear, they walked out the front door of their two bedroom apartment, which was a few blocks away from their respective childhood homes. After they had gotten married, Ian and Mickey decided to move out of the Gallagher house and into a place of their own. While both of them had to work extra shifts to pay for the security deposit and rent, it was nice not having to deal with Ian’s siblings and their various children all twenty four hours of the day. Once Mickey and Ian had gotten settled at the new apartment, there was one condition; which was that the newly married couple had to come over for dinner every Sunday night.

Ian slid his keys into the pocket of his coat and locked the door behind him before following Mickey out onto the street. It was mid April, but apparently Chicago hadn’t gotten the memo that it was spring. After passing through a few newer coffee shops and bars, Ian and Mickey came upon the familiar surroundings of the Kash n Grab and The Alibi. This slight change in scenery meant that they were in Canaryville; the place where both of them had become best friends, boyfriends, and eventually husbands over the last decade or so. They had reached the chain link fence surrounding Ian’s childhood home. The two men walked up the worn wooden steps strewn with cigarette butts, probably left there by Lip or Frank whenever he decided to show up. Mickey opened the door, immediately being greeted by the sound of a blaring TV and a fussy baby. Debbie walked over and pulled Ian into a hug, before moving on to hug Mickey. He sighed, smiling at her and returning the hug. As much as the Gallaghers got on his nerves, Mickey was glad to be a part of this dysfunctional family.

“Sorry we’re late, Debs. Somebody decided to change his shirt like twelve times.” turning to nudge Mickey in the shoulder.

Mickey raised an eyebrow, ready to defend himself. “Hey, it was only twice. Don’t lie, you enjoyed the show.” 

Debbie laughed. “It’s okay, Tami’s not even back with the food yet.” 

Ian breathed in the familiar scent with a smile on his face, as he hung his coat on the bannister of the staircase. The light blue house was rundown from the many years of various family members living in it, but for Ian, it was home. He was making a new home at the apartment he and Mickey had moved into a few months ago; but being at this house and seeing all his siblings filled Ian with happiness. 

Ian and Mickey stopped by the couch where Franny was watching a movie. Ian ruffled her hair and said hi to Franny before returning to talk to Debbie. Mickey wasn’t interested in their redhead club meetings, so he sat down on the couch next to Franny, holding out his fist in greeting. The little girl gave him a fist bump back, just as she had been taught to do by her Uncle Mickey. 

“Whaddya watching?” Mickey asked Franny. He had been spending more time around Ian’s --and now his-- niece since they sometimes watched her. Franny had taken to Mickey almost instantly, and loved making him play games with her or give her piggyback rides because she wanted to be as tall as her Uncle Ian. The toddler was a handful, but Mickey was getting acclimated to his role as an uncle. He wouldn’t admit it, but he had a soft spot for this particular Gallagher offspring.

“Toy Story 2.” she replied, not once moving her eyes from the TV. 

“And you didn’t wait for me to start?” Mickey asked with a gasp, just teasing the little girl. The pair had watched Toy Story the last time she was over at Ian and Mickey’s, and were now on the quest to watch all of the movies in the series. It all started when Mickey had gotten tired of entertaining the three and a half year old, so he set her in front of the TV to get a break. Although he would never admit it, Mickey had become almost as interested in the movie as Franny. After a few minutes of watching, Franny walked over to where Mickey was sitting on the couch. 

“Uncle Mickey, are you mad at me?” she asked. Mickey’s ever expressive eyebrows were knit in confusion as he heard the words come out of Franny’s mouth. 

“Course not, kiddo. Why the fuc--heck would I be?” Ian and Debbie always got on Mickey’s case about his language around Franny. 

“I was ‘sposed to wait for you to watch.” she answered, her brown eyes not meeting Mickey’s bright blue eyes as she said this. 

“If I were mad, would I do this?” Mickey hoisted Franny next to him on the couch and started tickling her, causing the girl to squirm about and dissolve into fits of laughter. Ian heard the noise that interrupted his conversation with Debbie, his eyes falling on the spectacle on the couch. The sight made Ian’s heart swell in his chest as he saw Mickey interacting with Franny. Ian had always loved children and seeing his tough looking husband bonding with his niece was insanely attractive to the redhead. 

Once the laughter subsided, the two of them continued watching the movie.

“Should probably go talk to the grownups.” Mickey said, running a hand through his jet black hair. This announcement from Mickey earned no response from Franny who was engrossed in the movie.

Lip was feeding Freddie in his high chair, while Ian sat on a nearby stool watching and talking to his brother. Mickey made a beeline to the fridge to grab two beers before heading over to the group. In the past, Mickey would have needed a beer in order to get through the punishment that was a conversation with Lip Gallagher, but that time was long gone. Mickey now considered Lip a friend, even though they still butted heads occasionally. He helped Mickey get a job at the shop for when he got off parole, and was the only person that cared about Ian anywhere near as much as he did. 

“How’s my favorite nephew?” Ian asked in a high voice as he tickled Freddie’s pudgy little arm. The baby laughed and babbled in response to being tickled by Ian, which caused a smile to appear on Ian’s face from ear to ear. He loved being an uncle, and was glad that he lived close by so he could see his niece and nephew as much as possible.

“He’s being a little fucker. Only half of the food ends up in his mouth” Lip answered his brother; as he attempted to wipe baby food off of Freddie’s face with a towel. Lip flung the towel over his shoulder; now the spitting image of Mr. Mom, complete with a pacifier sticking out of his back pocket. Ian smiled at the sight in front of him. He loved watching his older brother being a father, and knew that he was already a way better dad than Frank despite Lip’s stress about being a good father. As Lip set the spoon and baby food jar down to answer his phone, Freddie grabbed the spoon in his small fingers and threw it at Mickey, who was now standing next to Ian. 

“Fuckin’ Gallaghers.” Mickey mumbled as he picked up the spoon and handed it back to Lip. 

“Tam, listen. Tell them I called in the order an hour ago.” Ian could hear Tami’s exasperated tone talking over Lip come through the phone. “Hate to break it to you, but you’re a Gallagher too now.” Lip said, moving his mouth away from the phone. 

“I’m not doing that hyphenated last name shit.” Mickey responded, holding his hands up as if in surrender. As far as Mickey was concerned, the only thing that needed to be official on paper was that he was married to Ian; he didn’t need a different last name to show it. Ian wrapped an arm around Mickey’s waist, holding his husband close. He was so content at this moment; spending time with everyone he loved. 

“Ay, don’t give me that. You know you want to.” Ian told his husband as he leaned down slightly to kiss Mickey. Mickey’s hands found their way up to rest on the nape of Ian’s neck, while Ian brought his larger hands up to cup Mickey’s chin. 

“Is that what Mickey said to you last night?” Carl added with a smirk as he came in through the back door, still wearing his uniform from work.

“Nah, his mouth was a little occupied.” Ian turned around to respond to his younger brother, which broke the kissing. This answer earned a shrug of agreement from Mickey and a scoff from Lip, who did not want to hear about his younger brother’s sex life. Carl gave Ian a punch in the arm and went to go grab Freddie out of Lip’s arms. Carl was a good uncle, always helping out with his niece and nephew whenever he wasn’t at work or doing something weird but nice, like finding dogs and keeping them in the basement. He talked to Freddie in a voice similar to the one Ian used around little kids before throwing the baby up into the air and catching him. Lip noticeably winced seeing Carl do that with his son. He was always worried about Freddie getting hurt, remembering all the shit his younger siblings had gotten into when they were little. Ian gave his brother a reassuring squeeze on the arm, knowing how protective of a father Lip had become. 

Tami brought a gust of wind with her as she walked in the back door, her arms full with plastic bags from the Italian restaurant a block away. 

“Those shitheads don’t know how to run a fucking restaurant.” she said, as the door slammed shut behind her. Lip grabbed the bags out of Tami’s hands, giving her a kiss as Ian and Mickey were put to work unpacking the takeout boxes and setting the table. She took Freddie out of Carl’s arms and kissed him on the head, walking over to Ian and Mickey; giving each of them a one-armed hug. 

“What’s new with you guys?” she asked.

“Not much, same old shit.” Mickey responded, giving Tami a half smile. Tami and Mickey weren’t super close, they mostly stuck to exchanging pleasantries at family gatherings; not any real conversations. The two of them were practically ‘in laws’, so Mickey figured he shouldn’t be a total ass. 

Debbie came into the kitchen with Franny in her arms, having to pry her away from the movie, while Liam walked down the stairs; probably doing homework or playing video games in the boys’ room that he only shared with Carl now. Liam was in middle school now, and had made a couple friends who had been at different elementary schools. 

There was the usual commotion as everyone found their seats and began passing food around. Ian sat down near the window, in between Liam and Mickey. Lip told the family a story about some guy who brought his bike into the shop about every three weeks claiming there was something wrong with it, while Debbie recounted a story about coming home one day to find that Franny had drawn all over her fingers with a marker to “have letters on them like Uncle Mickey”. Ian turned to his left and started asking Liam about school while Mickey filled Carl in on the latest fights he had to break up at the mall. 

“Saw you with Franny earlier.” Ian said under his breath, giving Mickey a smirk as he put some salad on his plate before doing the same to Mickey’s plate.“You’re really good with her, Mick. Better get a World’s Best Uncle mug.” Ian told his husband, a smile on his face. He knew that Mickey wasn’t used to being around children like he was, and loved watching him interact with their niece and nephew.

“Damn right. I’m better than Carl and Lip.” Mickey said cockily, causing Ian to smile. “I figured it’s good practice for being a dad someday.” Mickey rubbed his eyebrow with his thumb, a nervous habit of his, after he said the last part. Knowing that this was normally a touchy subject because the two of them disagreed on it. Mickey knew Ian wanted children more than pretty much anything in the world, and was starting to warm up to the idea after spending so much time with Franny lately. The response caught Ian by surprise, who coughed on the beer that he had taken a sip of. 

“You okay?” Mickey asked. He clapped a hand on Ian’s back attempting to help him breathe. 

“Uh, yeah.” Ian replied after some sputtering. 

Everyone finished dinner, leaving Lip, Mickey, and Ian to clean up the kitchen, while Debbie let Franny watch the end of the movie and Tami took Freddie upstairs to give him a bath and put him to bed. Lip and Tami had slowly been moving more stuff into the house now that Ian and Mickey moved out, but their plan was to sell the RV and buy a house down the street once they saved up enough money.

Ian and Lip were washing and drying the dishes, while Mickey was put in charge of boxing up the leftover food in mismatched Tupperware containers. 

“Mickey basically told me he wants kids during dinner.” Ian told his brother, taking the dish from Lip and drying it with a towel. 

“You finally wore him down, didn’t you?” Lip smirked at Ian, knowing how much Mickey’s agreement on the topic meant to his brother. 

“Nah. He mentioned that helping out with Franny was practice for being a dad.” 

“Wow. Who would’ve thought I’d see a domesticated Milkovich.” Lip said with a snort, putting a soapy hand on Ian’s shoulder. “I know both of you will be great parents. I’m serious.” 

“Thanks.” Ian mumbled to Lip as he moved to put a dish back in the cabinet. Even though the both of them were grown adults now, Lip’s opinion was still important to Ian. He had shared pretty much everything important with his brother when they were kids, and Ian still came to Lip to talk these days. 

Eventually, the kitchen was all cleaned up and both of the kids were in bed, so it was just the adults and Liam left downstairs. Carl moved a few chairs around in the living room, so they formed a lopsided circle around the coffee table, while Debbie got Cards Against Humanity out of the closet. Lip, Tami, and Debbie claimed spots on the couch while Carl and Ian sat in the two chairs, leaving the floor for Mickey and Liam. 

“Fuck, am I stuck on the floor again?” Mickey whined as his gaze fell on Ian, who gave a shrug of his shoulders. Mickey settled onto the floor, in between Ian’s legs, his back resting on the front of the chair.

After a few rounds of the game and a few accusations that Ian was cheating by looking over Mickey’s shoulder at his cards, they all fell into relaxed conversation. The sound of crying came from the baby monitor that was sitting on an end table, which meant that it was Lip’s turn to check on Freddie. 

Empty beer bottles were picked up and the cards were put away as Ian and Mickey put their coats back on to leave. They said their goodbyes to the Gallaghers and headed back home. It had gotten dark outside, the only things visible were the dim light coming from the streetlights and the glow of the end of Mickey’s cigarette. He took a drag, feeling the smoke enter his lungs; providing temporary relief from the knot of anxiety forming in the bottom of his stomach. As they continued their walk home, the two men shared a few cigarettes and talked about the various stories they heard from the rest of the Gallaghers at dinner. 

Mickey became lost in his thoughts, not listening to Ian, who was filling Mickey in on what Lip and Tami’s latest fight was about. When Ian got no wise ass response from Mickey after he told a dad joke, he knew he wasn’t being listened to. 

“You okay?” Ian asked Mickey, nudging the shorter man with his elbow. This seemed to startle Mickey, who jumped a little at the sudden movement.

“Fuck, Ian. Do you want me to punch you?” Mickey responded once he came back to reality. 

“You’ve just been quiet, that’s all.” Ian replied. Mickey just shrugged at this statement and kept walking, he didn’t really want to get into it right now. The two of them reached their apartment complex and walked upstairs to their unit. Mickey unlocked the front door with his key; which hung on a beaded keychain Franny had made for him. He placed his key in the bowl by the door, which sat on a table that had junk mail strewn on top of it and a framed family picture of all the Gallaghers including Kev and V all circled around the newlyweds, which had been taken at their wedding. 

Ian slipped his boots off and set them by the door, walking over to the couch. He sat down, motioning for Mickey to join him. Ian picked up the TV remote that was sitting on the coffee table, which was accompanied by coasters and a half full ashtray. He flipped through the channels until settling on a rerun of The Office just to have some background noise in the quiet apartment.

“Want to tell me why you’ve been so quiet?” Ian asked, concerned about his husband. He knew Mickey wasn’t one to share all his emotions and thoughts, but the both of them had been trying to work on communication, so Ian figured he should try and approach the subject again. Mickey bent down, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes as if blocking out everything.

“I just don’t know, Ian. If I’ll be a good parent.” he took a shaky breath before continuing. “Terry wasn’t much of an example to look up to and look how fucked up I am because of him. I’m going to fuck our kid up so bad.”

Mickey had said their kid, which made Ian’s heart swell up with hope but hearing the rest of those words come out of his husband’s mouth simultaneously broke Ian’s heart. He knew that Mickey wasn’t Terry and hated thinking of all the trauma he had put Mickey through throughout his life. He knew how much Mickey had put on the line coming out to his father, and continuing to be in a relationship with Ian. Ian just wanted Mickey to know how much he meant to him and how proud he was of his husband for overcoming everything. 

Ian knew the fear and anxiety that came with the thoughts that you were going to be exactly like your parents. He had dealt with this many times after being diagnosed as bipolar, and being terrified that he would turn out just like Monica. Ian moved closer to Mickey on the couch, and rubbed his hand up and down his gray sweater clad back. The tenseness in Mickey’s shoulders eased up at the feeling of Ian’s touch

The two of them sat in silence for a few seconds until Ian took his husband’s face in his hands and turned it so they were eye to eye. 

“Mickey. Look at me.” Mickey did as Ian said, a single tear running down his cheek. “You are not fucked up, Mick. I love you, that whole house of people we just left loves you.” Ian continued on with a chuckle. “Hell, I know a certain three and a half year old who looks up to you so much.” 

After hearing this, Mickey cracked a smile. When this doubt and fear crept into his mind, Mickey knew he could always count on Ian, his Ian, to help him. 

“I love you so fucking much. You’re the best husband, and I know that you will be the best dad someday.” Ian said as he moved closer towards Mickey’s lips, engulfing them in a kiss. Mickey returned the kiss before sliding down on the couch so he could rest his head on Ian’s lap. 

No more words needed to be said right now. Ian began running his fingers through Mickey’s hair as he stretched out his long legs on the patterned rug that was underneath the coffee table. After another episode of The Office, Ian noticed Mickey’s breathing evening out; signaling that he had fallen asleep. Ian turned off the TV, and positioned a throw pillow against the wall; knowing that he would wake up with a crick in his neck.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! This is my first time writing fan fiction, so it might not be the best. Make sure to leave any comments or suggestions :)


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